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Red Bull's Christian Horner has paid tribute to Max Verstappen for once again standing up and making it count when it mattered. The Dutch driver stunned a lot of people when he put together a lap that was faster than the McLaren duo and secured pole position for him.
Red Bull has gone ahead with a distinct setup where the car is brilliant through the fast speed section in sector 1. This is where Verstappen was making most of his time over the McLaren duo. The other two sectors are where the Dutch driver was comparatively struggling against rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
This changed in Q3 when Max Verstappen stepped things up a notch. The driver was once again nailing the first sector but made sure that he was still aggressive enough in the other two and hence did not lose time to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
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In the end, when the checkered flag fell, it was the Dutch driver who was less than a tenth faster than Lando Norris and hence secured pole position for the F1 Miami GP. Talking to Sky Sports, Red Bull's Christian Horner praised this innate ability of Verstappen to rise when it is needed the most, as he said:
"Outstanding performance again in qualifying. Sector 1 has been where he's doing most of the damage today. Sectors 2 and 3 the McLarens had the upper hand and he was able to make that work in Q3. He had a wobble in Turn 1 and dropped maybe half a tenth but still went purple. He didn't overdrive Sector 2 and he kept finding more time."
He added:
"Like any great sportsperson, it's those big pressure moments where time and again he delivers, against expectation as McLaren look like they had us covered in Q2 and Max is a master of that."
Red Bull on Max Verstappen becoming a father
Christian Horner was also questioned on how Max Verstappen had been ever since he became a father, to which the team principal said that the driver had been walking a step higher. He also commended the Dutch driver's ability to compartmentalize everything and focus on what is important. He said:
"He's walking a step higher and becoming a father, welcome a beautiful little girl into the world is a massive thing. But we see time and time again, when he crosses that line into the garage and puts his helmet on, everything disappears. His ability to focus and deliver is insane. It's really truly impressive."
With his third pole position of the season, Max Verstappen is now at three pole positions this year, which is the highest number of poles by any driver on the grid and higher than even the McLaren duo.
